Children’s Fashion in CZ: Outfit your child in style

Louis Vuitton wants to use Charles Bridge for a women’s fashion show, but what’s the style scene like in the heart of Central Europe for the rough-and-tumble (underage) set? In Prague, clothing options for children range from Czech designer kids’ clothes to industry standards (Zara, Next or H&M) to outlets and discount retailers.

Traditionally, clothing in the Czech Republic has been more expensive (with fewer options) than in neighboring European countries and elsewhere abroad. As a consequence, families have often shopped for their children on trips out of the country. In recent years, however, that trend has begun to change. International brands now offer children’s lines in the Czech Republic, while young Czech fashion designers add originality to wardrobes with their own children’s collections. The emergence of online shopping portals and more convenient international shipping policies have made the process of shopping at home easier. Seasonal sales are also becoming more common, particularly online.

If you’re looking for new threads for your child, here are a few tips compiled by asking local parents (both Czechs and long-term non-Czech residents) where they do their children’s shopping in Prague. While our list is by no means comprehensive, hopefully, you’ll gain insights on where to find the clothes to suit your child’s personal style.

If you don’t find anything that you like among Prague’s options, you can always do as the locals do and head across the border to check out clothes shopping in Germany or Poland.

Creative online shopping & Czech designers

ZOOT is an innovative, online shopping concept that offers a range of off-the-beat name brands and ZOOT original clothing for men, women and children as well as home interior and design products. Their motto is radost or “pleasure” and their online site is set up with subcategories for apparel like “picking blueberries” (weekend clothes) or “to have salt in your hair” (seaside attire). ZOOT’s children’s section includes ZOOT original tee-shirts, sweatshirts and accessories printed with funny sayings in Czech and English. While their selection for children isn’t extensive (at least not yet), it’s a great place to buy a one-of-a-kind tee-shirt for 200 CZK or a sweatshirt for 450 CZK.

With the ZOOT system, customers order online at no cost. Items are either shipped to your home or to one of the ZOOT shops in Prague where you can try things on and keep only what you like. ZOOT offers a 90-day return policy and return shipping is free.

Fler is another online shopping concept offering designer and handmade clothing, accessories and home decorative pieces for men, women and children. Fler’s children’s section includes clothing ranging from appliqued pants to hand-painted shirts, tie-dyed tees, crocheted dresses, sweaters and hats. Depending on your personal style, some of the items may be a touch kitschy, but as far as unique design for reasonable prices, Fler is a great option. Sizes for children range from 50 cm to 164 cm. The website has an extensive list of search categories (gender, size, item type, material and color) to help simplify your shopping. Prices range by product, but you can find some good deals for quality handmade items.

Ice Ice Baby is a brand of high-end children’s play clothing and baby accessories created by Czech designers Andrea Beranová and Maria Čulenová after they became mothers. The clothes are hand-made using cotton fabric. The designs are simple lines with humorous accents, usually in tones of gray, white or denim with soft color highlights. An Ice Ice Baby tee-shirt runs 400 CZK while a dress is approximately 900 CZK. Sizes start at infant and go up to 140 cm. With a range of baby blankets, soft toys and swaddling clothes for newborns, Ice Ice Baby items make a nice treat for a mother-to-be if price is not a concern. Beranová and Čulenová also offer interior room design advice for children’s room makeovers.

Hana Zarubova has numerous accolades in the Czech design scene for her collections of clothes for men, women and children. In 2015, she was named a Czech Grand Design finalist for Fashion Designer of the Year for her collection Totoe for children. A high-end line of children’s play clothes, Totoe is characterized by soft, cotton pieces in neutral colors and blacks. Many of these pieces combine animal elements in a playful way. A boy’s hooded wolf jacket sells for 1990 CZK while a girl’s skirt in grey jersey is 990 CZK.

Desigual is Spanish-designed casual clothing that has made a splash in the Czech fashion scene. The company entered the Czech market a few years ago with a flagstaff store at the foot of Wenceslas Square and has since expanded to another shop in Novy Smichov. In a country where style was limited during the grey years of Communism, Desigual’s wild colors, patchwork designs and flowing lines were a fast hit with Czech women and their daughters. Due to the brand’s popularity in the Czech Republic (and somewhat limited variety of children’s options available), even though the company comes out with 1000 new designs each year, you still might meet another girl wearing the same dress or shirt as yours. Girls’ dresses start around 1300 CZK and girls’ tee-shirts cost circa 1000 CZK. Sizes range from 3-14.

Among industry brand names, there are a variety of clothing shops with children’s collections in the Czech Republic. While the shops in this category might not be the best choice for original pieces (if your child doesn’t want to come to school in the same tee-shirt as two of his classmates don’t buy from H&M), if basics are what you are after, they fit the bill. Most of the shops in this category can be found on Prague’s Na Příkopě which runs at the base of Wenceslas Square as well as in the city’s shopping malls.

As a relative newcomer to the children’s clothing scene in Prague, Lindex is a favorite among Czech moms as well as their pre-teen daughters. Lindex is a Finnish-owned (but originally Swedish) clothing company started in 1950 with an emphasis on sustainable fashion. Since 2010, the company has sold their children’s line Lindex Kids in Prague, offering casual clothes for school, sports and play.

This year’s Lindex spring children’s collection features bicycles, stripes and lots of denim as well as a special “Moomin” collection, spring bomber jackets and an outlet section with reduced prices. Lindex offers Frozen wear, from dress-up dresses to pajamas. They have a wide range of tights, socks, hats and other accessories often at a Buy 3 for 2 price. Children’ sizes run from infants to size 14. Buy online to get the sizes you need and have your order shipped for free to a Lindex shop for pick-up. Prices range from 300 CZK for a tee-shirt to 650 CZK for a sweatshirt.

While Lindex is newer to the scene, Zara, H&M, Next, C&A and Marks & Spencer are go-to-brands that have been outfitting children in Prague for years. Since each brand has its own look, depending on your style, your budget, your child’s age and clothing requirements, you’ll likely find your own favorite, if you don’t have one already.

When my children were babies and toddlers, I bought most of our staples at H&M. Now that my preteen daughter wants to choose her own clothes, when we shop in Prague, she heads for Zara or Lindex first. My boys don’t care where they get school clothes, but they love the costumes, dress-up clothes, hats and Superhero accessories from H&M. I still buy a good portion of their clothes on sale on our holidays in the US, but with the current exchange rate and the increasing options in Prague, my shopping patterns are slowly changing.

C&A is a British department store with at least 10 store locations in the Czech Republic and a large flagstaff store on Wenceslas Square. Along with the Marks & Spencer department store, C&A is popular with foreigners looking for British children’s fashion in Prague. Neither Marks & Spencer nor C&A has online ordering in the Czech Republic. The C&A selection is somewhat similar to H&M’s (Superheros, graphic tee-shirts, denim and basics) while Marks & Spencer offers a more expensive, preppy look (khaki pants, polos and button-ups). These shops weren’t particular favorites among the Czech parents with whom I spoke.

Another British clothing company Next has an extensive online website with options for children and teens ranging infancy up to age 16. Next carries play clothes as well as fancy occasion clothes. Order online and have items delivered from the UK to you in 3 days (no charge for order over 1200 CZK). Since Next’s stores in Prague are often not well-stocked for older children, ordering online is a plus.

Bargain shopping

If you’re in the market for deals, try Fashion Arena Štěrboholy, a large outdoor outlet mall with a selection of 200 brands, which is located in the Prague 10 district. Fashion Arena includes brands for children like Next, Paris Kids, Primigi and Benetton as well as a variety of sports and recreation stores like Salomon, Adidas and Kilpi which also carry children’s items. It’s a good place to find winter coats, ski clothes and shoes of all sorts at lower prices, particularly when it’s off-season. Check online for special offers.

If you’ve got a working command of Czech and you’re interested in selling as well as buying children’s fashion items, Mimi Bazaar is the cyberspace to visit. Mimi Bazaar is a family-centered internet website where you can buy (and sell) new and used items including children’s clothing, car seats, toys and other household goods. The principle is similar to eBay with some items being auctioned off and others sold for a certain price. If you would like to buy an item that’s on sale, you send an email to the seller to make a reservation. The seller will then contact you about availability and details of payment. Mimi Bazaar is popular for re-selling baby clothes and other infant items. You must be a registered user to sell items.

Other bargain options that require hitting the streets, include Takko (their stores are distinguished by signs with TAKKO in red letters on a yellow background), Lidl (a discount grocery store that also sells clothing) and Tesco’s F&F clothing label. Takko is a Germany discount retailer that carries clothing as well as home décor basics at inexpensive prices. At Lidl, each week brings different clothing specialties (from galoshes and waterproof raincoats to Hello Kitty sweatshirts, thermal long underwear or spring denim). Weekly specials sell out quickly and Lidl is a hot spot with locals. Plan to arrive early on the first day of the offer if you want to have something left to choose from. For a look at Tesco’s full F&F collection, which includes play clothes, undergarments and outerwear, head to Tesco at Novy Smichov or Tesco’s Máj store at Národní Třídu.

With the opening of a COS store (Collection of Style), which is a design branch of H&M, on Prague’s Pařížská street just days ago, locals can look forward to adding a touch of London minimalist fashion to their wardrobes. Although I haven’t made it to the new store to check if COS’s children’s collection is included, if it’s not here yet, chances are, it will come soon.